OAF News

Toronto - March 27, 2019 - The Ontario Arts Foundation announced today $ 3.36 million in endowment income payments have been made to 260 arts organizations in over 60 communities across the Province of Ontario. The annual payout represents income earned on endowments created by arts organizations and funded jointly by the private sector and the government through two matching programs: the Arts Endowment Fund, and the Canada Cultural Investment Fund, Endowment Incentives Component.

“Despite recent market volatility, the Ontario Arts Foundation continues to deliver a stable source of annual income that arts organizations can count on,” says Anthony Graham, Board Chair, Ontario Arts Foundation. “Rooted in a long-term perspective, our investment strategy remains focused on a portfolio of assets well positioned to grow over time and able to weather the ever-shifting economic and political climate.”

Arts Endowment Fund (AEF)The Arts Endowment Fund (AEF) is a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation. Under the AEF Program, money raised for endowment was matched, dollar for dollar, up to a predetermined maximum. Each year organizations receive income to be used for their ongoing operations. The Province of Ontario committed $60 million in matching funds between 1998 and 2008. Since inception, over $81 million in income has been paid from the endowment funds to Ontario arts organizations. Endowments established under the AEF Program now total over $154 million.

Canada Cultural Investment Fund - Endowment Incentives The Canada Cultural Investment Fund - Endowment Incentives Component is a program of the Department of Canadian Heritage that provides matching funds of up to one dollar for every dollar raised privately for endowment. Since its inception in 2001-2002, the Endowment Incentives Component has provided a total of $250 million in matching grants, leveraging private sector donations of $327 million, for a total of $577 million invested in public charitable foundations and benefitting the long-term financial health of 233 arts organizations across Canada.

Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2017-2018, the OAF paid over $3.35 million in endowment income and $260,000 in awards and scholarships.

About Anita La SelvaAnita
La Selva is a director, dramaturg, actor and teacher. She recently created and
directed Stones, an
inter-disciplinary inter-cultural theatre odyssey about women and violence
(Stones Project/Aluna Theatre). Previously,
she directed Perdida (Danceworks/Co-works),
The Mill on The Floss (Sheridan
College/UofT Mississauga), an all female Glengarry
Glen Ross (Jet Girls Productions) and Memento
Mori (Soulo Theatre). Anita was nominated for the Pauline McGibbon Award
for Emerging Director and her production of
Look Back In Anger (Fevergraph Theatre) won awards for Best Independent/Regional Director and Best Production (My Entertainment World Awards). She holds an MFA
in Directing from York University and has directed/dramaturged dozens of
workshops for new plays. In May she will direct Bella Donna, a dark comedy
about the Borgias.

Quote"Gina Wilkinson was more than just a female director. She was a visionary who had a fierce desire to forge a new path for herself as an artist in this country," says Anita La Selva. " Sometimes, when we choose to – or rather are driven by that unseen creative force inside us – to explore new terrain, the path can be daunting. And yet we persevere. This prize is a beautiful acknowledgement of
women theatre artists who are passionate and committed to creating a new path for themselves. I am so deeply honoured to be the recipient of this year’s prize and in the company of my predecessors. For me, it is an affirmation that I do have a place in this community, that I am supported and encouraged; which in turn deepens my desire to carry this forward through my own support of future generations of women artists. With immense gratitude. Thank you, Gina, for creating the portal.”

Erin Brandenburg is a director for theatre and performance projects and a playwright originally from Essex County, Ontario. Based in Toronto, she often works with a collective of artists under the name Kitchenband. She is a graduate of the directing program at the Soulpepper Academy, a winner of the Enbridge Emerging Playwrights Award, participant of the Stratford Festival Playwright Retreat, The Banff Playwright Lab, the VR workshop with Spiderweb show and the University of Waterloo Games Institute and an upcoming Artist in Residence with the Toronto Public Library. http://www.kitchenband.org/

Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster is an actor and director from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Her recent directing credits include The Wolves (Howland/Crows), Cannibal (Scrap Paper/Next Stage), 52 Pick-Up (Howland) and Gray (Inamorata). Courtney has performed in seven seasons with Soulpepper Theatre, mostly recently in Idomeneus and Innocence Lost. Other acting credits include roles with Public Recordings, Canadian Stage, Citadel Theatre, Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre, Cahoots Theatre, Tarragon Theatre and the 2019 Shaw Festival season. She is currently an instructor with the Paprika Festival and a mentor with the AMY project.

Janelle Cooperis a Storyteller who passionately shares her call to creation through service as an Actor,
Director, Writer, Educator. She is a vessel for the ones who came before, unearthing and delivering the
stories of her people by uniquely employing multiple storytelling conventions to a single narrative.
Janelle most recently directed Once On This Island at Lower Ossington Theatre in Toronto, and
wrote/directed UNGANISHA for Woezo Africa Theatre in Calgary. Janelle is the AD of Afrocentric
theatre company Ellipsis Tree Collective, a 2015/2016 NAC Ensemble Member, an honoured recipient
of the Making Black Calgary Award, and multi-award-winning Actor.

Nominations and Selection CommitteeThe Committee received nominations from across the country and was thrilled by the calibre of the artists vying for the Prize. The nominations spoke to an incredibly diverse, intelligent and passionate group of artists who, as emerging directors, are clearly dedicated to creating not only a lively, rigorous and positive environment for theatre-making but also to providing audiences in their communities with theatre experiences of the highest order.

The Gina Wilkinson Prize was established through the generous support of Gina's colleagues and admirers from across the country. The Committee (Micheline Chevrier, Bonnie Green, Krista Jackson, Tom Rooney and Bob White) extends its heartfelt thanks to all those supporters. Through their incredible generosity, the spirit of Gina lives on.

About the AwardGina's Prize honours a Canadian female theatre artist who is transitioning from one theatre discipline (acting, stage managing, playwriting, administration, etc.) to that of directing. The Prize pays tribute to actor/playwright/director Gina Wilkinson, who passed away in 2010, and whose dedication, vision and indomitable spirit imbued her work and her life. An actor for over twenty years, Ms Wilkinson began turning her attention to both writing and directing and, in the last few years of her too-short life, established herself as a daring, strong, inventive director and collaborator in the Canadian theatre. In the spirit of Ms Wilkinson's appetite for life, the Prize of $5,000 is a gift to be used in any way the recipient chooses.

The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the Gina Wilkinson Prize. Anyone wishing to donate may do so at www.oafdn.ca.

Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2017-2018, the OAF paid over $3.35 million in endowment income and $260,000 in awards and scholarships.

Toronto, February 12 2019 – On Monday, February 11th, the rising stars of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals, competed in the fifth biennial Christina and Louis Quilico Awards, with Anna-Sophie Neher claiming the first prize of $8,000. Joel Allison won the second prize of $4,000, and Simona Gengawon the third prize of $3,000. The event took place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

The competition was adjudicated by a panel composed of Alexander Neef, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company, Tracy Dahl, Canadian coloratura soprano, and Russell Braun, Canadian baritone. The young artists featured in the Feburary 11th competition sang one aria of their choice and one aria selected by the panel.

About Anna-Sophie Neher Gatineau, Quebec native Anna-Sophie Neher recently completed her Master of Music degree at McGill University where she won the prestigious Wirth Vocal Prize. She has also studied at Bard College and the Montreal Conservatory. Winner of First Prize at the 2017 OSM Manulife Competition, her operatic credits include Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Opera McGill); Adele in Die Fledermaus (Opera McGill); Pamina in The Magic Flute (Bard College); Belinda in Dido and Aeneas (Montreal Conservatory of Music); and Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro (Orford Music Festival). Three-time winner of the Jacqueline Demarais Scholarship, she has also appeared as a soloist with Clavecin en Concert, Montreal Bach Festival, Orchestre Symphonique de Gatineau, Festival Schubert de Montréal and Festival Lanaudière. With the COC this season, she sings the roles of Lavia in Hadrian and Chloe in WOW Factor: A Cinderella Story (Opera for Young Audiences).

About the COC Ensemble StudioThe COC Ensemble Studio is Canada’s premier training program for young opera professionals. Since the inception of the program in 1980, over 220 young professional Canadian singers, opera coaches, stage directors and conductors have acquired their first major professional operatic experience through the Ensemble Studio. Former members include Ben Heppner, Isabel Bayrakdarian, John Fanning, Wendy Nielsen, Joseph Kaiser, David Pomeroy, Allyson McHardy, and Krisztina Szabó.

The members of the Ensemble Studio are the COC’s resident artists and important ambassadors for the company. They receive a blend of advanced study and practical experience through an individually tailored, multi-year program, involving understudying and performing mainstage roles, intensive vocal coaching, language and acting studies, and career skills development, as well as participation in masterclasses with internationally renowned opera professionals

About the Christina and Louis Quilico AwardsChristina Petrowska-Quilicoestablished the Christina and Louis Quilico Fund in 2000 to honour her late husband, renowned baritone, Louis Quilico, and to recognize outstanding young singers, pianists and composers for voice. During his 45 years on the stage, Louis Quilico shared performing credits with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Joan Sutherland and Renata Tebaldi. He was instrumental in furthering the careers of many young singers through his teaching and master classes. The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the Christina and Louis Quilico Awards.

Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2017-2018, the OAF paid over $3.35 million in endowment income and $260,000 in awards and scholarships.

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Companyis the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. The COC enjoys a loyal audience support-base and one of the highest attendance and subscription rates in North America. Under its leadership team of General Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Johannes Debus, the COC is increasingly capturing the opera world’s attention. The COC maintains its international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation by creating new productions within its diverse repertoire, collaborating with leading opera companies and festivals, and attracting the world’s foremost Canadian and international artists. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, hailed internationally as one of the finest in the world. For more information on the COC, visit coc.ca.